Manager, Sales Planning

Title: Manager, Sales Planning

Reports to: Director, Sales Planning & Insights

Location: Remote/Chicago, IL

Looking for a job that can grow into a lifelong career?

At Lactalis USA, we believe in promoting from within and giving our employees meaningful opportunities to learn, grow, and thrive. Whether you're just starting out or bringing years of experience, we'll provide the tools and support you need to succeed.

Lactalis is the world leader in dairy-a family-owned company with over 85,000 pragmatic and ambitious professionals across the globe. Every day, we're proud to produce award-winning dairy products that bring people together every day.

In the US, we offer an unrivaled house of beloved brands, including Galbani Italian cheeses and ricotta, President specialty cheeses and butters, Kraft natural and grated cheeses, Breakstone's cottage cheese, Cracker Barrel, Black Diamond cheddar, and Parmalat milk. Our yogurt portfolio includes siggi's, Stonyfield Organic, Brown Cow, Oui, Yoplait, Go-Gurt, :ratio, Green Mountain Creamery, and Mountain High, along with sour cream and a growing family of ethnic favorites like Karoun, Gopi, and Arz.

At Lactalis, we live by our core values-Ambition, Engagement, and Simplicity. We're building a workplace where innovation thrives, diverse perspectives are celebrated, and everyone's unique background and ideas are valued.

Even if you don't meet every qualification, we encourage you to apply. We want to hear about your PASSION, your STORY, and how your EXPERTISE can help us make an impact.

From your PASSION to ours

As a Manager, Sales Planning, the role will carry out responsibilities such as but not limited to delivering the insights, tools, and cross functional coordination needed to enable effective sales execution and strategic planning. As an information expert, the Sales Planning Manger translates data into actionable insights to assess performance, identify opportunities, and inform business decisions. This individual will partner directly with the BU Sales Planners to drive profitable revenue growth - main areas of focus include but are not limited to: supporting key BU initiatives, commercialization, forecasting, trade optimization, process improvements, and ensuring flawless execution with Field Sales. Additionally, the Manager, Sales Planning will collaborate with Field Sales, Marketing, Finance, Demand Planning, and Supply Chain to ensure delivery of BU targets. This individual must be highly motivated and be able to thrive in a fast-paced, complex environment. to align duties with the company's goals and values.

From your EXPERTISE to ours

• Deliver reporting, business insights, and sales performance analysis to help the BU Sales and Field Sales team win
• Understand and apply category analytics to deliver key insights and business recommendations on merchandising, assortment, pricing, and promotion
• Develop strong cross functional relationships with Category Marketing, Omnichannel Planning & Activation, Demand Planning, Supply Chain, Revenue Management, Finance, and Field Sales teams to deliver targets
• Deliver sales forecasting accuracy in partnership with BU Sales Planning, Marketing, Demand, Supply, and Field Sales teams through monthly demand forecasting routines and identification of key volume drivers
• Coordinate with BU Sales Planners, Revenue Management, and Finance to aid in trade management and trade optimization
• Analyze competitive landscape to help team maintain an optimal go-to-market strategy. Lead special retail analytics projects as defined by the sales leadership team to help with key strategic initiatives.
• Drive flawless execution of brand and business priorities; develop best-in-class sales execution tools to ensure consistent execution across Field teams and customers
• Partner with BU Sales Planners on key initiatives, including but not limited to: commercialization process, innovation/new item launches, customer-specific joint business plans, annual planning process
• Partner with BU Category Leadership to deliver actionable insights based on macro trends, category performance, and consumer insights

WORK CONDITIONS

• Travel may be required up to 25% monthly.
• Extended hours may be necessary depending on the project needs
• To fulfill these responsibilities, tools such as a computer, phone or, and / or allowance(s) may be provided.
• To fulfill these responsibilities, a cell phone is required.
• Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these essential duties and responsibilities.
• This position requires physical presence in the office of Chicago, 1 week per month.

From your STORY to ours

Education

• Bachelor's degree is preferred.
• Majors in Analytics, Business Administration, or Sales is preferred.

Experience

• 3+ years of previous CPG sales experience is preferred.
• 5+ years of experience in Sales, Category Management or relevant Field Sales.
• Previous experience in the CPG industry and strong understanding of the US retail landscape preferred.
• Minimum 2 years of experience using syndicated / panel data

Certifications and specific knowledge

• Proficiency in Excel & Power Point required